Texas beats No. 23 N.C. State 102-97 to claim 5th place at the Maui Invitational

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LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Jordan Pope scored 28 points and Texas held on to beat No. 23 N.C. State 102-97 on Wednesday night to claim fifth place at the Maui Invitational.

The Longhorns (6-2) led by as many as 15 points late in the first half, then withstood a second-half rally by the Wolfpack (5-2).

All but one of Pope’s field goals came from 3-point distance. He made five 3-pointers and had 17 points by halftime and finished 7-for-13 shooting on 3s in the game.

Texas shot 50% (16 of 32) on 3-pointers, 55.8% (29 of 52) from the field and 84.8% (28 of 33) on free throws.

Chendall Weaver had 17 points and eight rebounds, Dailyn Swain added 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Matas Vokietaitis scored 13 points. Simeon Wilcher added 12 points and Camden Heide 11 for the Longhorns.

Quadir Copeland had 28 points and six assists, Ven-Allen Lubin finished with a season-high 23 points and nine rebounds, and Paul McNeil Jr. scored 20 points for the Wolfpack. Darrion Williams finished with 10 points before fouling out late.

Texas capped a 15-7 first-half run with a Swain dunk to take a 45-30 lead with 1:33 until halftime.

The Longhorns led 47-37 at the break, but N.C. State stormed back to take a 71-70 lead on a layup by Alyn Breed with 7:51 to play.

N.C. State outscored Texas in the paint 46-20.

The Longhorns held a 24-7 advantage in fast-break points.

The Wolfpack shot 53.1% (34 of 64) from the field, including 47.4% (9 of 19) on 3-pointers, and 71.4% (20 of 28) at line.

North Carolina State: At Auburn on Wednesday.

Texas: Host Virginia on Wednesday.

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